“We did what we can. We’re volunteers; we worked hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours on this thing. So, it is what it is.” — P&Z Commissioner Chris Pagliaro
“No one caught it… I do think we need to give ourselves and everybody in the town who read it and came to the meetings and everyone involved — we need to give ourselves some grace on this.” — P&Z Vice Chair Melissa-Jean Rotini
Along with Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Rick Tomasetti, the two Commissioners quoted above served as P&Z’s representatives on the Greater Wilton Center Master Plan Subcommittee. During the Monday, Oct. 28 meeting of P&Z, they acknowledged that the new zoning overlay developed for Wilton Center omitted any requirement to provide affordable housing and that the omission was an error. The new zoning was supposed to require a minimum 10% affordable housing in any new residential development, and encourage 12% affordability housing for any project five stories tall.
Wilton Center’s largest property owner, Kimco, appears to have been the first to spot the mistake and made sure to submit the application for its five-story, 168-unit apartment complex while the error was still on the books. At this point, the company is not beholden to any corrections P&Z might now make to the zoning overlay.
In the words of Commissioner Mark Ahasic, who did not serve on the subcommittee that drafted the new zoning, “We’ve seemingly let the Kimco ship sail.”
During Monday’s meeting, the commissioners one by one indicated that they were inclined to approve Kimco’s application, including the project’s bonus fifth story. As outlined in prior reporting, in addition to the error in not requiring 10% affordability overall, P&Z appears to be acquiescing to a particularly lenient interpretation of the density bonus section of the zoning regulations, granting Kimco a bonus fifth story by declaring the project’s 1.8% rate of affordable housing “an exceptional public benefit.” Once approved, presumably, any future applicants will have a case for enjoying that same generous interpretation of the code.
The portion of affordable housing units matters because Wilton’s stock of affordable housing currently constitutes roughly 4% of the town’s overall residential properties. This means that Wilton is susceptible to 8-30g, a state law that encourages affordable housing by allowing developers to sidestep local zoning in towns with less than 10% affordable housing, if their projects offer at least 30% affordability. In order to be exempt, Wilton would have to either meet the law’s minimum target of 10% affordable housing overall, or earn a four-year moratorium by demonstrating that the town has increased affordable units by at least 2% since the prior census.
Both options now seem more out of reach than ever. The Kimco project with its 1.8% rate of affordability appears to statistically erase all affordable housing gains made by the town in non-8-30g projects over the last several years.
The 8-30g statute has been a hot topic at P&Z for years, occasionally leading commissioners to veer from their town role and into personal politics during official meetings. In June 2023, a meeting devolved into outright argument as Tomasetti, a Libertarian who ran on the Republican ticket, shouted at Commissioner Eric Fanwick, a Democrat, when Fanwick tried to bring discussion back to the application at hand at the time.
“I will not be silenced on this issue,” Tomasetti said. “I’m not in favor of it and I’m allowed to vent. Our community is electing legislators who are for this stuff. Stop electing these people!” The Commissioners then engaged in a charged back and forth about whether State Sen. Ceci Maher and State Rep. Keith Denning, both Democrats representing Wilton, “support” 8-30g.
The Wilton Center master plan process cost the town at least $150,000 in consulting fees and took nearly two years to complete. The project was meant to wrap up in nine months, but instead stretched to 22 months, during which time, the subcommittee at one point took a five-month break in between meetings with the project consultants. Despite the extended timeline, the subcommittee elected to eliminate one of the three planned public hearings, a decision that was never acknowledged or explained.
The Greater Wilton Center Area Master Plan was originally envisioned as the first in a series that would later create new rules for development in Cannondale and Georgetown. Those master plans were expected to begin in 2023 but no mention has been made of them at P&Z for at least a year. However, on Oct. 24, the Board of Finance approved a grant request from the Historic District and Historic Properties Commission for a “pre-Master Planning grant” to study historic preservation needs and opportunities in Cannondale.
The memo submitted to BOF by HDHP states that the Cannondale Master Planning process “is expected to initiate within the next 12-18 months.”
Before concluding Monday’s meeting, the Commissioners briefly discussed the process for updating the Wilton Center zoning regulations to require the intended 10% rate of affordable housing. Wrinn explained that the change will take some time. The new zoning requirement would need to be authorized by P&Z and then reviewed by Wilton’s Town Counsel, surrounding towns, and the Western Connecticut Council of Governments, after which it would go to a public hearing and then eventually a vote by the Commission.
Any residential development in Wilton Center whose application is submitted before that process is complete would — like Kimco — have the right to build up to four stories with zero affordable housing.
A final vote on the Kimco application is expected at the next meeting of Planning & Zoning, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Can p&z deny this application for not complying with state law?
Know who I’m NOT voting for, ASAP? Rick Tomasetti, Chris Pagliari and Co.
You wanted these positions, you ran campaigns and said you were the best for the positions and not only did you mess up the master plan, you have no backbone to even fight to try and make the best of your mistakes. Embarrassing, disappointing but memorable enough for me to vote for major changes when they’re up for election. Frankly they all ought to resign immediately.
They should all resign. They have destroyed small town Wilton, they have ruined our town! I don’t want to live in Stamford or Norwalk. I picked Wilton because of the small town charm. You want nightlife move to a city. I am not against rebuilding and improving but I am against the shear scale this P&Z board has allowed. You can’t get around other towns because the traffic is awful. Our town is easy to find parking, get in and out, it’s manageable.
If P&Z could miss something so important and vital how can I trust they have not over looked other essential components, i.e. traffic safety, location of parking spots pulling out into the main road in Wilton, amount of child in school district, the cost of the wear and tear on our town, increase of taxes to support such density, etc. I have lost faith in our P&Z to make any large decisions. And the lack of remorse makes it even worse. If they can’t understand the gravity of this fatal mistake Wilton is in BIG trouble.
And if you don’t think “families” are moving into these apartments you’re delusional. A family of 6 can easily fit in a 2 bedroom. Who is going to regulate this? Check the school register forms to ensure the school address legally can only have X amount of kids? And who will evict these families when they are over crowded? Who will be paying for this?
This list of questions and concern goes on! No wonder they are hiding behind zoom. They can’t answer these questions.
Thanks P&Z you should be proud of yourselves!! It’s almost like building a new car but except you forget to add seat belts and say “ ops oh well”
OH WELL great reply!!
I don’t understand how Kimco does not have to obey by STATE law. I thought state law trumped local. For example the town could deny anyone wanting to develop a second dwelling if your property was under 1.8 acres, but because the STATE passed you can’t deny second dwellings STATE law trumps local.
P&Z “little mistake” almost makes you think was it a mistake? Or was Toni right P&Z does have a “secret agenda” the entire reason we are building was mainly for affordable housing how do you miss this? And how do you not ask Kimco at the start of the process? Why is everything at the last min?
And if Wrinn is right and P&Z can’t require new buildings to have at least 10% affordable housing until the bylaws are changed ….. why wouldn’t every developer summit tomorrow???
I bet if you had in person meetings a smart towns person would have asked kimco on day one. Hiding behind zoom and being so ridiculous about not letting the public speak to developers during the planning process not working!! I don’t care if only one person shows up to the in person meetings, that one person could have saved this town from your over sight! That alone is worth everything.
P&Z you shouldn’t be proud of your work you should be ashamed!! And Rick the biggest bully on that board should resign immediately!! He clearly is not fit to continue to serve as chairman. Another example of personal interest over towns best interest. And I can’t imagine no one on the board didn’t see this oversight, they probably did but were just too nervous to bring it up to Rick because I am sure he would yell at them! In any case this is no small mistake and should require an immediate shutdown of P&Z until further notice to prevent any further damage!!!
Wilton tax payer should be outraged. What a waste of time and money. P&Z if you kept what was best for the town at the forefront these mistakes wouldn’t have happened.
Firstly, I would like to thank GMW for their excellent coverage on this topic.
Secondly, the stakes here are huge. This blunder has the potential to decimate the character of this town we all love, especially if 8-30g comes into play. Shame on whoever drafted this regulation. Shame on whoever reviewed it. And double-shame on whoever approved it. This is the stuff of amateurs. It is imperative that all future regulations be reviewed by actual professionals.
Thirdly, I would assume that the intention of the affordability requirement is clear and can be supported by documentary evidence. I’m not a lawyer, but it seems that the town has standing to go to court with Kimco over this oversight, rather than cave completely.
And fourthly, why on earth are we giving Kimco the 5th floor??! They are providing only a weak public benefit at best. Why is P&Z acquiescing to Kimco on this and setting precedent? Is it just because P&Z is embarrassed by their mistake? Adults don’t cower in embarrassment; they make it right!
P&Z should deny kimco application unless they add 10%. If Kimco wants to sue or go the 8-30g route at least we will have 40yrs of 30% affordable housing and Wilton could apply for a much needed moratorium.
P&Z fight to fix your wrong!! Don’t let Kimco dictate the terms. P&Z maybe since the board doesn’t seem to be good at allowing open communication my advice hire a mediator to help Kimco and Wilton come to a more reasonable agreement then 3 affordable housing and no 5 stories since 3 apt is not suitable as a public benefit. Unless this was P&Z plan all along?
Hopefully after this election the law will change and Wilton can develop at a more natural pace of development.
This reads less like a journalistic piece and more like an OpEd (and an anti-housing one at that).
While I’ve previously expressed support for more development in the town center, I do not think that Kimco’s 5th floor provides sufficient public benefit nor sufficient affordable units to garner support from the town. In addition, it will significantly impact the look/feel of the town center, and with so many total units will put us in a deeper affordable units deficit for all future construction projects.
Despite the fact that the vote has not yet it occurred, that apparently the “ship may have sailed” on the affordable units requirement for this application, and that the town may not have sufficient “reasoning” to deny the application altogether, I encourage the town to go back to Kimco and request that they add more units. The town should publicly take accountability for the mistake on the overlay and the process, but also put it back on Kimco to do the right thing and add some additional units. Kimco knew the intention, they had agreed to it in the past, and they found and exercised a loophole due to a massive mistake that has real immediate and long term implications.
In addition, I strongly recommend a moratorium on all future development until the problem with the overlay can be addressed. I also question if there is legal recourse for the paid consultants and legal counsel who were responsible for ensuring the paperwork was all done properly in the first place. Is this not what errors & omissions policies are designed for?